Post by Bracken Van Ryssen on May 30, 2016 14:50:57 GMT
Solihull Bicycle Campaign Monthly Meeting
10:30 AM - Saturday 28th May 2016, Happy Heart Café Olton.
1. Welcome and introductions
2. News and updates:
a. Bike West Midlands Network.
b. Space for Cycling
3. Summer campaign plan.
4. AGM dates.
5. AOBs
1) Laura Yorke (Secretary) and Bracken Van Ryssen present.
2a) The Bike West Midlands Network alliance of campaign groups was formally launched on last Wednesday. The launch was well attended with representatives from a number of different cycling organisation including several council officers and the head of the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority. Nine councillors in the WM area were invited, four confirmed and zero attended, the BWMN plans to identify key political figures and arrange a targeted meeting in the near future. This fits in with our plan to identifying and reach out to potential cycling champions within Solihull Council.
Laura Shoaf (Director of Transport) confirmed the concept of a regional strategic cycle network to connect the council areas and remain open to the concept of adopting design standards from around the country. However, the officers voiced their scepticism as to whether designs that are implemented in London could be applied in the West Midlands and the WMITA has not as yet committed to an infrastructure assessment tool to ensure that future cycle infrastructure is of a high enough standard.
2b) Bracken attended a Space for Cycling revival workshop, coming away with a number of campaign tools and techniques which we plan to use. Including Robin Lovelace’s propensity to cycle tool which can identify where the greatest need for infrastructure is, the Cyclescape issue identification tool from CycleStreets Ltd, and Cambridge Cycle Campaign’s infrastructure assessment tool.
The overall plan for the Space for Cycling campaign, and all the local campaigns that have adopted it, is to spend summer consolidating resources, autumn drawing up plans and network maps and finally canvasing political support in the spring of 2017.
3) We discussed the best way forward for the campaign during the summer period, talking about the best ways to attract more members with the limited resources we have.
We decided that we would not be setting up beginner and social rides during the summer this year as it would be too big a burden on our current volunteer numbers. Instead we discussed setting up stalls at local supermarkets to hand out leaflets and attract members. We also discussed how to remedy the dropping numbers of people attending the campaign meetings, deciding that the best option may be to query active members as to what would make them abler to attend meetings (e.g. change the day and time).
4) We decided on Friday 22nd of July for the AGM and agreed to adopt a new AGM format in which motions are decided upon prior to the meeting and discussed and voted upon within the AGM itself.
5) No AOBs
Meeting ended 11:30 – next meeting set for Saturday 25th of June 10:30 at the Happy Heart Café.
10:30 AM - Saturday 28th May 2016, Happy Heart Café Olton.
1. Welcome and introductions
2. News and updates:
a. Bike West Midlands Network.
b. Space for Cycling
3. Summer campaign plan.
4. AGM dates.
5. AOBs
1) Laura Yorke (Secretary) and Bracken Van Ryssen present.
2a) The Bike West Midlands Network alliance of campaign groups was formally launched on last Wednesday. The launch was well attended with representatives from a number of different cycling organisation including several council officers and the head of the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority. Nine councillors in the WM area were invited, four confirmed and zero attended, the BWMN plans to identify key political figures and arrange a targeted meeting in the near future. This fits in with our plan to identifying and reach out to potential cycling champions within Solihull Council.
Laura Shoaf (Director of Transport) confirmed the concept of a regional strategic cycle network to connect the council areas and remain open to the concept of adopting design standards from around the country. However, the officers voiced their scepticism as to whether designs that are implemented in London could be applied in the West Midlands and the WMITA has not as yet committed to an infrastructure assessment tool to ensure that future cycle infrastructure is of a high enough standard.
2b) Bracken attended a Space for Cycling revival workshop, coming away with a number of campaign tools and techniques which we plan to use. Including Robin Lovelace’s propensity to cycle tool which can identify where the greatest need for infrastructure is, the Cyclescape issue identification tool from CycleStreets Ltd, and Cambridge Cycle Campaign’s infrastructure assessment tool.
The overall plan for the Space for Cycling campaign, and all the local campaigns that have adopted it, is to spend summer consolidating resources, autumn drawing up plans and network maps and finally canvasing political support in the spring of 2017.
3) We discussed the best way forward for the campaign during the summer period, talking about the best ways to attract more members with the limited resources we have.
We decided that we would not be setting up beginner and social rides during the summer this year as it would be too big a burden on our current volunteer numbers. Instead we discussed setting up stalls at local supermarkets to hand out leaflets and attract members. We also discussed how to remedy the dropping numbers of people attending the campaign meetings, deciding that the best option may be to query active members as to what would make them abler to attend meetings (e.g. change the day and time).
4) We decided on Friday 22nd of July for the AGM and agreed to adopt a new AGM format in which motions are decided upon prior to the meeting and discussed and voted upon within the AGM itself.
5) No AOBs
Meeting ended 11:30 – next meeting set for Saturday 25th of June 10:30 at the Happy Heart Café.